ETSS Skimmer Club!

[jjk_reef00]

I have a ETSS 1500 on a very heavily stocked 400 gallon total system. 275 display + 120 sump. I love these skimmers and my 1500 pulls a ton of junk out. But IMO it is not enough to keep up. I do have 2 large tangs, a sting ray which is a total pig, an angel, a 6" rabbit fish, and some small fish. I'm trying to do some sps and I'm having some hair algea problems from overfeeding my stingray, and other tangs.

I have a iwaki 100 on there and I would upgrade the pump if you want to use the 1500 on a larger system. I was actually going to upgrade my pump to a reeflo. But then I found a great deal on a used ETSS 5000 so I'm going to get a reeflo commercial pump!

Check out this guys tank, he has a ETSS 2500 running with an Iwaki MD-100-RLT.
http://www.rockcanyon.com/reef/filtration.htm

I think the two downdraft tubes would make a world of a difference. If I were you I would try to go with the 2500 if that is in your budget. Then buy a used Iwaki 100 or equivalent. Try it out and see how it keeps up. Then if you need more you can upgrade your pump (or get a 2nd for the 2nd downdraft tube). You may want to email the link I posted above and ask him what he thinks.

It seems that the 2500 works really well for him.

I've never ran a cone but I love these skimmers and they pull a ton of junk. I'll try to post some pics this weekend.

You may want to look into ozone also (some don't like it). But I have the MTC ozone setup and my skimate is very dark and I'm getting a lot of junk I wasn't without the ozone. I highly recommend it. After adding the ozone my water got crystal clear and I realized that my skimmer wasn't keeping up because of the amount of junk it was pulling out.

 

[railroader46]

Hey fellas I have a SB40 and was wondering what good pump would be for it. I was thinking about a iwaki 40 but was wanting to here what you all would shoud suggest.

 

[rigleautomotive]

I think a blue line HD30 or iwalki 30 would be plenty,A 40 series would work throttled back a bit also

 

[C-21 USAF]

Have some issues with the EVO 750.

My outflow is below the water line in my sump but the water level never changes. My flow is restricted due to this and am down to only two bioballs to maintain flow through the reaction chamber.

Anyone ever ran their's w/o any bioballs?

On another note, I had it pretty much set and it was giving me dark tea colored skimmate and then poof!...nothing for last 4 days and I mean nothing!
What up with that?

 

[jjk_reef00]

You need the bio-balls to produce the foam. Your production probably stopped because the bio-balls clogged in the downdraft tubes. I posted in this forum a while back on how I used different bio balls to prevent this compacting of bio-balls.

If you have 2, or 3 bio balls you are not going to get any skimate. If micro-bubbles is a problem there are ways to deal with that, but removing the bioballs is the wrong thing to do.

What pump are you using to feed it? I don't understand how the level in the sump would limit the flow? Unless you trying to gravity feed it and you can't exceed your overflow capability.
Perhaps it overflows because the outflow is below your water level? If that is the case you should build a small stand in your sump to place the skimmer on.

 

[C-21 USAF]

I'm at my wits end with this skimmer...I'll post some pics in the next hour so we can finally get this thing running or decide to sell it and move on.

 

[jrmx635]

evo 750

evo 750

thats a real good skimmer but you have to run the recommended amount of bio balls and the right pump for it.
without bioballs you will not foam right.

 

[C-21 USAF]

1st configuration:
Used the supplied bio-balls and started with 15 and worked my way down to 4 I think and the reaction chamber was still over flowing, but producing some skimmate nonetheless.

2nd configuration:
I used 3 of the bio-balls described earlier in this thread but instead of stacking them on top of each other I stacked them offset (see pic) to take up more space in the reaction chamber. It still over flowed in the reaction chamber in this configuration.

3rd configuration:
I removed one of the aforementioned 2nd configuration bio-balls and with only two the reaction chamber stopped overflowing and it was producing good skimmate...life seemed to be taking a turn for the good.

Then after about 3 days of success it all stopped. When turned off the pump (Blueline 40HD) I could see that my offset stack of two bio-balls had turned sideways. Last night I reinstalled the two bioballs the way they were, secured them with fishing line, but this morning there was no skimmate...not even close. This confused me because this configuration had worked before.

My pic should show the entire set-up in action and at rest so you can see the water lines. It also shows the reaction chamber with the bio-ball configuration.

Any thoughts?

 

[llebcire]

I feel your pain...I ran my skimmer (Reef Devil Deluxe) with my old setup and it would reliably produce good skimmate.

On this tank, I'm having the same issues - great output for a few days, then nothing.

Switched pumps, changed configuration/# of bioballs, and can't stabilize it (running for 7 months).

It's hard plumbed in such a way that it would be difficult to replace...but I'm losing faith.

-Eric

 

[jjk_reef00]

I've never used that particular skimmer, but I think a big part of your problem could be the water level in your sump with respect to the skimmer (pic 4).It looks like the water level in your sump is almost into the neck of the skimmer so there isn't much room for foam to develop. I think that is why it is overflowing and why you are then reducing bioballs.

Also that 2nd picture those bio-balls are totally compacted and you will not get good foam with them. That is how my bio-balls looked after about 1 month of use in my old 1500. The foam production decreased a ton.

Here is how I would try to fix it:
1.) raise the skimmer up higher with a taller skimmer stand (I see you have 1 already). After using 2 models of ETSS I feel they should be elevated above the sump entirely if possible.

2.) Uncompact your bio-balls, and add the recommended amount.
Notice how mine have plenty of room for water to flow. Yours doesn't.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15401085#post15401085

3.) if you are overflowing try reducing flow on your pump using a ball valvue. Theoretically you should be able to just open the gate valve, but your water level in the skimmer is high.

 

[jjk_reef00]

I feel your pain...I ran my skimmer (Reef Devil Deluxe) with my old setup and it would reliably produce good skimmate.

On this tank, I'm having the same issues - great output for a few days, then nothing.

Switched pumps, changed configuration/# of bioballs, and can't stabilize it (running for 7 months).

It's hard plumbed in such a way that it would be difficult to replace...but I'm losing faith.

-Eric

My bet is your bio-balls are compacted. You will need to take the skimmer off line and literally stick a broom stick up there to get them loose. Mine were really stuck in there and I had to turn my ETSS 1500 upside down and use the broom to shake them loose.

I made the mistake of not using a union to connect the skimmer and will not do that again. Also true union ball valves are great for sumps. I know some people don't have room for them but I'm really glad I added them. It made my upgrade a piece of cake.

 

[C-21 USAF]

I think my relationship with this skimmer is about to end. If you see in the pics my skimmer is at the very top of my stand...I can't go any higher.

The water level in my sump is a little high but with the gate valve wide open the operating water level in the skimmer is well within tolerences according to the instruction manual.

Reducing the flow on my pump seems like a bandaid fix that would force me to reduce the capactiy of the skimmer...I'd rather get a different skimmer.

Thanks for the help.

I've never used that particular skimmer, but I think a big part of your problem could be the water level in your sump with respect to the skimmer (pic 4).It looks like the water level in your sump is almost into the neck of the skimmer so there isn't much room for foam to develop. I think that is why it is overflowing and why you are then reducing bioballs.

Also that 2nd picture those bio-balls are totally compacted and you will not get good foam with them. That is how my bio-balls looked after about 1 month of use in my old 1500. The foam production decreased a ton.

Here is how I would try to fix it:
1.) raise the skimmer up higher with a taller skimmer stand (I see you have 1 already). After using 2 models of ETSS I feel they should be elevated above the sump entirely if possible.

2.) Uncompact your bio-balls, and add the recommended amount.
Notice how mine have plenty of room for water to flow. Yours doesn't.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15401085#post15401085

3.) if you are overflowing try reducing flow on your pump using a ball valvue. Theoretically you should be able to just open the gate valve, but your water level in the skimmer is high.

 

[menace78]

The instructions say that the water level should be below the gate valve knob. Regardless of the internal operational hight in the skimmer that can easly be changed by the gate valve and or pump configuration.
Mine sits in water about 1" below the knob and is setup in sump rather than external and works wonderfully.
I agree that water level and water fluctuation may be the cause of you'r problem with this skimmer.
It's an awsome skimmer and I hope you get you'rs working the way you would like it to.

 

[C-21 USAF]

The instructions say that the water level should be below the gate valve knob. Regardless of the internal operational hight in the skimmer that can easly be changed by the gate valve and or pump configuration.
Mine sits in water about 1" below the knob and is setup in sump rather than external and works wonderfully.
I agree that water level and water fluctuation may be the cause of you'r problem with this skimmer.
It's an awsome skimmer and I hope you get you'rs working the way you would like it to.

I double checked the instructions and they show the minimum water line to be well above the knob on the gate valve...were you referencing the EVO instructions?

 

[jjk_reef00]

I double checked the instructions and they show the minimum water line to be well above the knob on the gate valve...were you referencing the EVO instructions?

Regardless of what the instructions say you will have reduced performance if you run it that way. The output of the gate valve needs to be above the waterline. That is just the way the downdraft skimmer works.

 

[menace78]

I double checked the instructions and they show the minimum water line to be well above the knob on the gate valve...were you referencing the EVO instructions?

That was quoted from ETSS Technical staff earlier in this thread when asked about water depth because no where in the instructions does it state water level max (I think due to the fact that they figured most people with this size skimmer would run it external and not under the DT like alot of us do)
And yes that was stated for the EVO 500 & 750.
If I remember right they also covered the flutuating water level condidtion near the same post witch was invaluble when I setup mine because that was the problem I had

Try reading back threw this thread and you might find a solution to you'r problem. Even if it is 20 pages long >.<

 

[menace78]

Regardless of what the instructions say you will have reduced performance if you run it that way. The output of the gate valve needs to be above the waterline. That is just the way the downdraft skimmer works.

This is not correct. just need to have the water hight not to exceed the knob from it. otherwise it would be useless to most of us unless we had a fish room or didn't care if the skimmer was sitting on a table next to the tank in our living rooms

 

[jjk_reef00]

This is not correct. just need to have the water hight not to exceed the knob from it.

menace78, You are saying the knob I say the output. If it were my skimmer I would not run it with the output fully submerged as C-21 USAF did. I would have at least 1/4" of the output above water (the entire output if possible) because then the pump/ gate valve combination determines water level in the skimmer and not the sump. That is how these are intended to run. Look at the instructions of the higher end models. The downdraft design performs better if the pump feeding the skimmer determines the water level inside the skimmer. This is not the case when the output is submerged.

When you are talking 1-2" there would be minimal performance difference. I could argue that there would be better skimming performance with the skimmer sitting higher but I won't go there. It is only 1" after all. The point is that the water level in the skimmer needs to be low to allow the most foam inside the skimmer.

I've played with these skimmers for some time now and the perforce is noticeably different when the water level in the skimmer is lower (more foam).

otherwise it would be useless to most of us unless we had a fish room or didn't care if the skimmer was sitting on a table next to the tank in our living rooms

Actually I made an acrylic stand for mine that sits in the corner of my living room right next to my tank. You'd be amazed how much attention my giant skimmer gets. Who has room for skimmers under their stand with ozone, kalk, calcium, and phosphate reactors. Not to mention auto-top off, lighting ballasts. waste collector cups, the list goes on and on...

 

[menace78]

The downdraft design performs better if the pump feeding the skimmer determines the water level inside the skimmer. This is not the case when the output is submerged.

True not denying that fact but It is also capable of running submerged.

When you are talking 1-2" there would be minimal performance difference. I could argue that there would be better skimming performance with the skimmer sitting higher but I won't go there. It is only 1" after all. The point is that the water level in the skimmer needs to be low to allow the most foam inside the skimmer.

Yes. Running one above drain level will preform better. no argument there.
But I will argue that 1"-2" difference in a DD skimmer or most skimmers for that matter can make a huge difference in both foam and skimmate prodution.
And I agree that you need to have the output water level as low as you can make it to get better performance. still no argument.

Actually I made an acrylic stand for mine that sits in the corner of my living room right next to my tank. You'd be amazed how much attention my giant skimmer gets. Who has room for skimmers under their stand with ozone, kalk, calcium, and phosphate reactors. Not to mention auto-top off, lighting ballasts. waste collector cups, the list goes on and on...

If that works for you that is wonderfull but with a wife that would hate it, kids that would probably play with the gate knob when you weren't looking and a DT that is in you'r living room, some poeple (like myself) don't see this as feasible.

You have no argument with me that running these DD skimmers above sump drain level is better I was just stating that they are able to be ran in sump with the output submerged altho it does degrade performance.
and as stated by the tech, you shouldn't exceed the hight of the gate valve knob witch puts this skimmer at at maximum output water depth of ~9", and stability of that output level is IMO the key to it working reliably.

I'm sorry if you took offence to my comment I just didn't want someone thinking that it can't be run in this way. Whether it should be wasn't the issue. It's just my 2¢

 

[menace78]

I double checked the instructions and they show the minimum water line to be well above the knob on the gate valve...were you referencing the EVO instructions?

Had to add that I didn't read that correctly the first time.
We are not talking about the water hight inside you'r skimmer. Rather the level of you'r sump where the gate valve drains into.